


Waterside Musings

by pearl_scribbles



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comfort, Comforting, Drabble, F/M, Missing Scene, just some kids chatting before a world-changing revolution, positive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25040119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearl_scribbles/pseuds/pearl_scribbles
Summary: Desperate to put some physical space between herself and the anxious Avatar, Katara finds herself escaping to Ember Island's beaches.Takes place during Sozin's Comet Part 1.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 71





	Waterside Musings

The day came to a rough end, leaving the group scattered around the house. Aang in particular was meditating on the balcony looking over the ocean, and the last thing Katara wanted was to get in his way. Truth be told, she didn’t want to face him at all - she could feel her frustration and anxiety boiling just beneath her surface, and she couldn’t trust herself not to let it loose on Aang and disconcert him even more. 

A walk in the opposite direction of his meditation seemed like it could do the trick, and before she fully realized it, she found herself standing on the same dock she had been sitting on after her confrontation with Yon Rha. Of course her feet would take her to the water. If only there was a way to heal her anger...but that would be too easy. 

That didn’t mean her element didn’t hold some therapeutic comfort for her. She could feel the tension rolling off her shoulders as soon as she took off her shoes and sat at the end of the dock, letting her feet dip into the water. She leaned back on one hand while the other began lazily making a stream of water bend through the air like one of the ribbons from the terrible Ember Island Players’ show. 

The water twisted and turned like a dragon in flight, before gathering into the shape of a koi swimming in circles like Tui and La. Soon, a second koi joined the first to better match the moon and ocean spirits, only to twist into each other and form a perfect sphere. It was a little surreal to remember how difficult that used to be - before this journey, she was lucky if she could make a ball without losing half of the water she managed to bend. Now, the only thing keeping her from making countless spheres float in the air was laziness. 

“I thought I’d find you here.” 

The water ball shuddered, but stayed intact, as she jumped from the sudden voice. She turned to see Zuko standing at the landbound end of the dock, watching her with a weary smile. “Hey Zuko. Is everything alright?” 

“Oh, yeah, uh...Aang’s still meditating, and the others are sparring with each other.” 

“Okay. Then...did you need me for something?” 

“Hm? Oh! No, I just wanted to see if you maybe wanted to join us. But you’re busy, so I’ll just, uh…” 

“Or you could join me?” She patted the empty spot next to her with her free hand. “The ocean’s great, and I’m sure the others will wreak enough havoc without us throwing water and fire into the mix.” 

Zuko’s embarrassed guilt at disturbing her melted into relief so quickly that Katara couldn’t help mirroring his smile. She was worried they wouldn’t have anything to talk about, but as he settled down next to her and dipped his feet into the water, she found they didn’t need to talk. The prince seemed content to watch her bend watery designs out of the ocean, and the silence that fell was a comfortable one. 

The water twisted into a few more configurations before returning to a smooth sphere. When the globe reappeared, Zuko sent the slimmest stream of fire out to form a perfect ring around it, making it look like an odd planet before the flames snuffed out. “Is this how you practice your bending when you’re not fighting?” 

“If these were the moves I needed practice on, we’d be in a lot more trouble when the comet comes,” Katara snorted. Her grin melted away when she glanced at Zuko and saw how thoughtful he looked as he watched her bending. She’d seen him smiling, and even joking around with the others, but she couldn’t remember ever seeing him look so...at peace. Even his scar looked somehow less tight around his eye, though that may have been a trick of the setting sun. “Sometimes messing around like this just helps me relax, especially when I don’t want to bother the others.” 

“‘Bother’ them?”

“Yeah, I mean…” One shoulder lifted in a lazy shrug. “They’ve all got a lot to worry about. I don’t want to pile my problems on top of them.” 

Zuko had been leaning back on his hands, but at Katara’s words, he straightened up so he could better look her in the eye. “Katara...you wouldn’t be bothering them. You do so much for us, I think it’d be more worrying if you _didn’t_ vent every now and again.” 

The concern in his eyes was so foreign to her that she felt guilt rising in her even though she didn’t do anything wrong. “Yeah, well…” A small tendril of water left the sphere to lightly bop Zuko on the nose, and he cringed away with a frown so childish, Katara couldn’t stop a laugh from bubbling out of her. “That’s why I’ve got you around, right? I can just yell at you and feel all better.” 

“That’s not really what I had in mind, but if it helps…” His hand wiping at his nose couldn’t hide his grin from Katara. Her own smile quickly faded into melancholy thoughtfulness as she let the floating water drift back into the ocean, leaving barely a ripple behind. 

“Honestly, Zuko...you _have_ helped me. A lot. I know Toph always jokes that I’m the mom of the group, but sometimes I get so focused on what I think the others need from me…” 

“...you forget to take care of yourself.” 

She didn’t have it in her to be annoyed at him finishing her sentence, not when he was clearly right. “I know I was hard on you before, and I won’t apologize for that. You needed to earn my forgiveness. But then you kept going above and beyond to help us, past just being Aang’s firebending master. I don’t think any of us have really thanked you for that.” 

When she glanced over at him, he was staring fixated at the waves gently lapping at their feet, and she could see a flush extending the red of his scar down his cheek. “You guys don’t have to thank me. It’s all been the least I could do.” 

“Maybe you’re right...but we still appreciate it. We appreciate you.” He finally met her eyes again with a hesitant smile, as if he thought he could jinx her thanks away. “Are you doing ok? About tomorrow?” 

“Hey, you came out here to distract yourself from taking care of us all,” he protested with a weak smile. “Don’t let me ruin that.” 

“Zuko…” The kindness in that blue gaze couldn’t hide Katara’s stubbornness, and he knew he had no choice but to answer after a sigh. “I dunno...I know I shouldn’t tell Aang how to handle all this. He’s the one who has to face my father, save the world, restore balance to the nations...if he doesn’t want to add being a killer on top of all that, I can’t be angry about that.” 

“But…?” 

He shifted forward on the dock, sitting right at the edge and hiding his face from Katara as he gazed into the water. “My father’s been a shadow over me for my whole life. Everything I’ve done has been for or because of him. I think a part of me is hoping that if he...if he dies, maybe I’ll be free from him. But that’s not up to him...that’s up to me.” 

The sound of Katara moving didn’t prepare him for the gentle weight of her head on his shoulder. He instinctively stiffened up, but when she made no further movements, he let himself relax into the feeling, even letting his scarred cheek rest on her hair. His silent approval let Katara speak up, her quiet voice still reaching him clearly with how close they now sat. “Your dad can’t take away all the good you’ve done, Zuko. You’re already twice the man he’ll ever be, and you’ll be twice the leader he ever was. I know we haven’t known each other for very long, but even I can see how much you’ve grown.” 

“Well...technically we’ve known each other for a while...I did spend all that time chasing you guys- _ow!_ ” He reached between their bodies to rub at where her elbow had dug into his ribs, and he could feel her body shaking with silent laughs. “Shut up, Your Highness.” 

It was the first time he’d ever heard her refer to him by his title. Even though she was joking, the term of respect coming from her lips still settled inside him like a warm ember, and he wondered if she could tell he was smiling as they relaxed into each other again. 

The sun was setting rapidly below the horizon, and took their last day of peace with it. But as he sat there with this girl who was called a peasant, but carried herself with the strength and pride of the Southern Water Tribe’s princess, he didn’t think it was possible to feel more self-assured in the face of a revolution.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing these characters, and hoo boy, I can only hope I've done them some sort of justice. Growing up, I always thought they'd be better endgame than what we got in canon, but it wasn't until my recent re-watch of the series that the true injustice of it all really hit me, ughhhhhh >.< Also I wrote this in two sittings, which is why the POV randomly changes, but I'm too lazy to edit a drabble enough to fix that, sorry. 
> 
> I have all kinds of ideas for stories surrounding these two, but I wanted to first try my hand at writing them, just to see if I can get a handle of their voices. It's been a while since I've posted anything on here, so I figured, why not share it with you all lol hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, including any of its characters or world-building. Please do not copy and paste any of this work on other websites, nor plagiarize any part of it. Thank you.


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